Fly Without Wings
by lamentedfyre
Summary: I, Iolana Shardae, eldest daughter of out Tuuli Thea, have no wings. I, the heir to the avian throne, am an outcast among my people. banished at age eight I have lived my life amongst the carnage of the feilds... AU no Danica ZaneXOC
1. Prologue

**A/N: first, allow me to assure you that I do not own Hawksong, nor any other book in the series**. **second, allow me to assure you that while I may update sparotically I never give up on my stories _ever_. that being said, if I haven't updated in a while, feel free to bug me about it :)**

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I have never known anything but death and fear, nothing outside of rejection, scorn and the bite of a blade. Legend says that my people were descended from a girl by the name of Alasdair and each of us is gifted with the second form of a bird. Or feathers are as natural to us as our human forms, flying easier than walking. The royal family takes the form of a golden hawk always, but even the lowliest present can shift into a bird of some sort.

I cannot.

I, Iolana Shardae, eldest daughter of out Tuuli Thea, have no wings. I, the heir to the avian throne, am an outcast among my people.

They were told I had died when I was eight.

In truth, I was banished to no-man's territory; My mother held no affection for a wingless daughter.

Now I have become a myth, a shadow. I fight against those serpiante that dare to attack me.

They are a people blessed with the second form of snakes and against them my people fight a war that has long sense lost meaning. They attack me because I have the build of an avian, light, high boned, and graceful, but mostly, they attack because I possess the molten gold eyes of a Shardae. Avians attack me out of fright because I appear a ghost to them.

I don't care who attacks me really. I defend myself all the same.

I rarely lose.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: yes, I write short chapters. oh well :P**

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I crouched high in a tree, peering down at a battle that had raged hours before. Not one soldier had come away alive.

A flight of soldiers had appeared to collect the Avian bodies. Among them was my brother, Xavier. I knew I should feel sad, or angry even, but I only remember him laughing at my being trapped in my room, his smirk as I was banished, and his reedy childish voice calling out to me as I left the Hawk's Keep for the first and last time.

"You won't last a second against the serpiante!"

I felt only a spark of vengeful satisfaction. I had lasted nine years longer than my petty, egotistical brother had and I certainly hadn't needed wings to do it.

A voce cried out, a meter at most from my refuge, my eyes locked onto the source of the sound; a serpiante soldier that had been dealt a slow-killing stomach wound. The flight merely glanced at him before taking off, leaving him utterly alone.

My hot-headed temperament kicked into high gear, anger boiling though my blood at their pure idiocy. Recklessness winning over logic I leapt from the tree, catlike, and knelt beside the fallen serpiante.

Gregory Cobriana.

The name flashed through my mind as I beheld his startling garnet eyes, eyes filled with pain, weariness. He was only another soldier and I felt again the burn of my hatred for this war. He studied me, closing his eyes in resignation, of the end at the sight of my eyes. But I did not draw my dagger; I took his hand instead. Unspoken gratitude flitted across his face. He would not die alone. Unbidden, a song had come to my mind, one I used to sing when I was younger, driven all but insane by the constant carnage and bloodshed. So the disowned heir to the Avian throne knelt beside her people's worst enemy and held his hand, sang to him as he waited for death.

_Do not die for their hatred_

_Their scorn_

_But die for peace_

_For love_

_Endless Bloodshed_

_In shadows lurks fear_

_At night you wake up screaming_

_But no one's there to hear_

_Find your courage_

_Find the streangth_

_To fight through the pain for peace_

_But do not die_

_Never fade_

_Do not die for a meaningless war…_

The last words of the song caught in my throat, coming out s a hoarse whisper.

_Do not die so young_

Gregory's eyes fluttered shut for the last time and I felt hot tears flowing down my face. I who could find no reason to cry over my own brother now cried over his enemy, a boy to young to have died for such a reasonless cause.  
A cool, languid voice rang out from the foliage behind me.  
" I never knew a bird to sing so prettily"  
I whirled around to meet yet another pair of garnet eyes, eyes that nearly froze me on the spot; it was Zane Cobriana himself.  
"And a hawk at that" he mused, eyes locking with my own.  
"To be a hawk" I whispered "one must have wings." I met his gaze evenly, not shirking or looking away. "I am a nothing."  
And with my listless, empty words echoing behind me, I disappeared into the shadows, silent as the ghost I am rumored to be


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I do not own Hawksong. If I did this wouldn't be on fanfiction would it?  
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Zane stood there for a while, staring into the trees where I had vanished. Then, just like that, he vanished. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and whirled around. Zane stood silently behind me, eyes narrowed  
"What do you want?" I demanded  
"The truth. Nacola Shardae has—had—only two heirs, now one, yet you poses eyes that only a hawk-" Zane held up a hand to silence the protest rising in my throat "-only a member of the royal family by birth could have"

I bit my lip "What…what sort of intelligence do you have on the royal family?"

"As much as any of the flight leaders, with the possible exception of Andreios"

Hearing that name was like being stabbed in the gut with a red-hot dagger. My breathing became shaky and I squeezed my eyes shut as I fought for control. When I spoke, my voice was deceptively calm. I dug my nails into my palms. "Rei- Andreios is the only person outside my family that knows everything." My palms were bleeding freely now; I had sharp nails. Something very close to alarm appeared on Zane's face.

"What happened?"

I laughed. It was a hash, bitter slightly maniacal sound. Now Zane was defiantly alarmed.

"Iolana Shardae died of disease didn't she?"

"I remember, but I was referring to your hands."

"My nails; I dug them into my palms to keep from an emotional outburst." I glanced at my hands absentmindedly "If only mother could see me now." I laughed again. There was something desperate in the way I forced the sound from my throat. I needed to laugh. If I didn't, I would drown in my memories; go mad with the pain each day carried. Every second was a constant reminder of the betrayals, the prejudice, the lies of my past. They were reminders I didn't need.

"Imagine," I looked at Zane "Imagine one of royal blood fighting not only the enemy, but her own people as well." His expression was unreadable "Imagine a princess stealing for her survival, frisking dead bodies for supplies. It's a pretty picture, isn't it?" I collapsed on the ground, leaning against a tree "But I always was her own personal disgrace"

Zane knelt beside me. He'd found bandages somewhere and started wrapping them around my hands. I felt weak, defeated, like I could sleep for and eternity, but Zane urged me on.

"Princess?"

I took a deep breath, mentally debating. No one knew I was still alive. Not a soul knew who I was and yet…something told me to trust him. Our eyes locked, gold to garnet, and in that instant I knew my choice.

"I am Iolana Shardae."

What did I have left to lose?


End file.
